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The unprotected exposure of a respiratory therapist who later developed bacterial meningitis triggered the first citations under California's new Aerosol Transmissible Disease Standard with fines of $101,485, including two "willful" violations, the strongest possible penalty, against Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland, CA. The medical center has appealed the citations, but did not reply to a request for comment as this story was being filed.
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The Nurse and Health Care Worker Protection Act of 2009 includes the following language requiring health care employers to purchase equipment for patient handling:
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Safe patient handling moved to the national stage for the first time recently as a U.S. Senate subcommittee held a hearing on a bill that would create new injury prevention requirements.
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For many years, "body mechanics" was the mantra of physical therapy. Position yourself correctly as you lift and you can avoid injury, the physical therapists said.
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For emergency room nurse Rita Anderson, RN, CEN, the assault was as sudden and unpredictable as a stroke of lightning.
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Health care remains in the spotlight of an energized U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) as the agency explores new regulations related to infectious diseases and requirements for injury and illness prevention programs.
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Imagine you're a patient calling to make an appointment. You may wait an extended period of time before the call is answered. Or, someone may answer the call and then put you on hold or route you to another person who cannot help you. Either way, you're not getting that appointment as quickly as you could be, and you're likely to be dissatisfied.
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Whether your biggest "pain point" is a sudden surge in denied claims, terrible compliance with a new payer requirement, or a slowly growing trend of unhappy patients, the solution comes from the same place. Your staff know the answers whether they realize it or not.
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If a satisfaction survey includes any positive feedback about an access employee at Greater Baltimore Medical Center, this does not go unnoticed.
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If patients report being "very dissatisfied" with the admission process, does that mean they're angry because a registrar was rude and unfriendly? Or was it because they waited hours in the emergency department hallway for an inpatient bed to become available?